Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-06
our halfway syst, m.

our hallway System.
Excluding realty in the strictest
..s . of the term, there is more capital
inves sted IN railways than in any
other one class OF property held IN
the country. The natural result OF
this is to draw into the management
Of these enterprises the best talent oil
the nation in all the branches oil
intellectual work. Raiiroading is as
a broad rule managed with consum-
mate skill. Hence the deliberate
G onclusiors OF railroad people may
well serve as guides to most people.
If these views are correctly taken
there then can be ao mistake as to
the prospective Importance OF South
ern California. Albeit there are not
in the entire area embraced in the
section so denominated more than a
scant hall million souls, and although
Los Angeles, the largest city therein,
is a place of only some 60,0Oo inhab-
itants, yet three trans-continentai
lines of railroad already run their
trains into this place, and the whole
valley most directly tributary TO this
city is now being literally gridironed
with roads. Two OF the most power
full combinations in the world are
straining every nerve to traverse
with their branch railroads every
por ton OF this valley, and to pene-
tr ate every little pocket in the great
surrounding mountains.
To reach this point The Central
Pacific from San Francisco first
spanned with iron bands 500 miles OF
wilderness. The same combination,
under the name OF the Southern Pa
cific. did more by fourfold when a
ro ad was built across the Colorado
desert, through the wilds OF Arizona,
and over the waste plains of Texas in
order to connect Los Angeles with
the Atlantic seaboard. Last OF all
came the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe system with an enterprise simi'
larly gigantic in its embrace IRON
Kansas City, in the very heart OF the
Union. across the waste Territories
and deathlike deserts to bring thell
trains to our gates.
The great trunk lines being com
plete. both the Southern Pacific Com
pany and its energetic rival are doing
great exploits in the construction ol
the branch lines referred to above,
and which are intended to serve as
feeders to the main bodies. OF the
three sections OF the trunk lines here,
Two OF them stretch parallel one to
tnc other a distance OF about sixty
miles between San Bernardino and
Los Angeles. The third is about hall
as long, from above Newhall to this
city. But little OF the network to be
held together by these has yet been
constructed, but the preparations foi
this work are astonishing. Although
the Southern Pacific was first in the
deld bv many years, and in spite O
the fact that lis new rival has bu
Just pleted the exhaustive tasl
pf spanning the continent, yet at The
moment to the Atchison, Topeka anc
Santa F6 must be conceded the palm
Of yictoIy in this business of branch
buildiug. Ofcourse the old system had
wears ago done much of this, having
the line to Santa Ana, about thirty
miles in length, that to San Pedro
somewhat shorter, and the Santa
Monica branch OF less than twenty
miles. These three branches, with
the two trunks have afforded railroad
facilities TO nearly all parts OF the
great valley.
The last exploit of the old com
pany is a large one-that oil con
structing the coast line from Monte
rev far into San Luis Obispo county
and from this city TO Ventura on the
way up to meet that coming down.
This is intended to forestall the new
company in any effort that it might
have contemplated to reach San
francisco, through this fertile coast
country.
The new company is making very
complete plans to penetrate all por-
tions OF the country. With one line
TO San Diego by way OF Cotton and
thence along the fertile valleys OF the
midland portion Of San Diego county,
work is being pressed at the highest
degree to reach the city Of San Diego
BY way Of the Southern end oi this
nounty "a the ocean, and thence along